Congress
The bi-annual BRICS Congress on Photonics comprises a 4-day Conference and a 2-day Doctoral School.

Organized by the BRICS VIP and hosted by one of the BRICS VIP members, this Congress continues efforts of the coordination and acceleration of the fundamental and applied activities in photonics related areas.

The Congress provides a unique forum to share the latest results of the photonics research at the international level and bring together the engineering, physics, and material science communities working in the field of photonics and its applications.

The Doctoral School following the Conference represents a unique opportunity for students and young researchers to get exposure to the latest advancements in the field of photonics and meet the leading experts in this field.

First Photonics Conference 2016
On May 30-31, 2016 the First Photonics Conference of BRICS countries took place in Moscow, Russia at Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech).
The Conference was organized in accordance with the Moscow Declaration and Action Plan adopted at the III BRICS Science, Technology and Innovation Ministerial Meeting on the 28th of October, 2015.

The mission of the conference was to identify the priority areas in the field of photonics, which are of common interest for the BRICS countries and to coordinate actions aligned with the existing competences, financial, scientific, and technological resources of the participants.

Representatives of research institutions and business community from Brazil, India, China, South Africa, and Russia, as well as officials from the embassy of Brazil, staff of the BRICS Secretariat and Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation attended the conference. The Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Liudmila M. Ogorodova opened the conference and welcomed conference participants.
After the opening speech, a plenary talk and discussions were held under the title "Discussion of the Materials for the Public Analytical Report on Photonics Development in Russia", with introduction given by Alexey K. Ponomarev, Skoltech Vice-President for Industry Cooperation and Innovation. Different chapters were presented by Pavel S. Dorozhkin, principal research scientist at Skoltech center of Photonics & Quantum Materials (CPQM), Arkadi V. Chipouline, Darmstadt Technical University & Skoltech, Alexey A. Romanov, Deputy General Director for Science, JC Russian Space Systems and Professor Vladimir P. Drachev from Skoltech.

During the two days of discussions, several topics of common interest in the fields of Optical data communications and Optical interconnects, Optical data processing and storage, Optical detectors and sensors, Optical navigation and location systems, Integrated optics, and Biophotonics were covered.

The participants unanimously emphasized the importance of coordination of activities in Photonics between BRICS countries. The participants noted that the conference objectives were met, the high quality of presentations, and significant problems discussed.

In addition, the Conference held a session on the Analytical Report on Development in Photonics in the Russian Federation. This report contained directions of potential importance for fundamental and applied research, analysis of resources in Russia and abroad, as well as market assessments. The above topics were actively discussed by both the Russian and foreign participants.

At the conclusion of the session BRICS participants suggested analogous documents should be prepared by other BRICS countries. At the end of the Conference, participants enthusiastically welcomed a call for proposals for BRICS multilateral research projects (Pilot call 2016) recently announced by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.